Ardbeg Hypernova
The Ardbeg distillery, one of the best-known producers of peated whisky from the Isle of Islay, surprises us with a plethora of editions. And these are selling on the stump, often within minutes or so of announcing the sale. There are many indications that such a state will not change for a long time to come.
Ardbeg Hypernova, prepared exclusively for Ardbeg Committee members, is a peated whisky. Seemingly no surprise when it comes to Ardbeg - after all, this one is referred to as the peaty monster from Islay for a reason. Even if the palm of primacy in the peatiness category has long since been taken away from it by subsequent editions of Octomore from Bruichladdich distillery, saturated with peat phenols to unbelievable levels. This time, however, Ardbeg does not disappoint when it comes to ppm levels. However, comparisons are not the point here. Here we get a version of Ardbeg in which the peat phenolic content of the malt used in production has tripled.
Typically, Ardbeg uses smoked malt to a level just above 50 ppm. Smoked peat up to 170 ppm was used in the production of Ardbeg Hypernova. And even more, according to an official announcement. These are already the levels of many an Octomore. But it was supposed to be without comparisons.
Ardbeg Hypernova, as befits Ardbeg and the editions intended for Ardbeg Committee members, is a liquor not colored with caramel, not cold-filtered and not diluted before bottling. The form of cask strength in this case is 51% vol power. Its aroma is filled with notes of asphalt, tar and soot, while on the palate we are to find chocolate, peppermint, peat smoke, almonds, aniseed and cloves. The finish will feature coffee, smoky heather and heavy smoke. Sounds encouraging? Keep an eye out for the release date, which is scheduled for October 25, 2022.
According to distillery manager Colin Gordon, this is the only occasion of its kind in Ardbeg's history, which may mean that similar experiments have not happened before, nor are they planned in the future. It may or may not. As has been seen many times before, the 1983 James Bond motto applies in the Scottish distilling industry - never say never. Playing the role of Bond at the time, Sean Connery is a proud Scot, so he certainly knew what he was saying.
The Ardbeg distillery, like many others in the Scottish distilling industry, suffered from the overproduction crisis of the 1980s. True, its activity was sustained with the help of the crew of the neighboring Laphroaig, which at the time had the same owner, but this ended with the closure of Ardbeg in 1996 and putting it up for sale. Just a year later, the distillery had a new owner, Glenmorangie plc, and the new team spared no effort to rebuild not only the production capacity of the plant, but also the myth of the distillery. The extent to which they achieved this goal is evidenced by Ardbeg's position today and the almost cult status it has achieved among other Scotch whisky makers.
As usual in such cases, the launch of Ardbeg Hypernova in Poland will be handled by the House of Whisky Online, whose current offer includes ardbeg's considerable resources - and those contemporary and those archived, collectible. Worth a look.
[13.10.2022 / graphic: Ardbeg]